Players in the Chain
by The Final Pandemic
Summary: Bridget's only concern in this new world is to protect her brother Eli, she couldn't even remember the last time anyone looked out for her. Then Daryl Dixion steps in to fulfil that role, and she is definitely not complaining. OC everyone!
1. Force of Thought

**I don't own anything except my OC's and my changes in the seasons. All of the references to movies and TV shows are not mine. Enjoy and see you at the bottom.**

**Force of Thought**

Bridget Mary Forbes shifted in the backseat of a small red Saturn as her back ached with the lack of comfortable beds that just weren't available in today's time anymore. It also wasn't helping that her brother was somewhat snoring in the front seat. Originally from Walhalla, South Carolina, Bridget and Eli had crossed the border into Georgia and had been roaming for a couple months after leaving their own group made up of eight, not including them, messed up survivors. The pressure eventually got too much for their leader, Sam, and he decided to off himself with a bullet to the temple in front of everyone in their camp, including his wife and their two young sons. After they said their goodbyes and secured him six feet under the dirt the infected begun staggering in, assumingly drawn in from the gun fire. She and Eli didn't stick around long enough to see who survived.

Eli was 22 and younger than her by five years and, in Bridget's mind, that made him a baby. He was always complaining that he was a grown man and didn't need to be taken care of, and it seemed he objected even more so after the apocalypse. She knew the sudden intensity of his complaining was because he knew it'd be just like her to sacrifice her life for his. And he was completely right. It was engraved in her mind to protect him, so much to the point to where it was instinct now.

When Eli was eight and she was thirteen Bridget was supposed to walk around the corner from her middle school to his elementary school and pick him up to walk two blocks to their house, but just as she was about to leave out the doors to go to him James Montgomery, the hottest boy in school, asked to talk to her and quickly found herself in a lengthy flirting session.

By the time she detached herself from James her little brother was gone from his usual spot. Bridget spent the next six hours it took to find him locked in her room bawling until she went through four boxes of tissues. When they found him he was sitting in a McDonalds saying that he got tired of waiting for his sister and tried to walk home by himself, he went on to explain in the naive voice of a child that he got hungry so he tried to get some food but didn't have any money. The concerned cashier called the 911 dispatcher and made a positive ID of a missing blonde haired, blue eyed boy who said his name was Eli Forbes. That incident changed their household from there on.

Her mother and father didn't hesitate to remind her until the day she turned eighteen that Eli could have been hurt or kidnapped. They made her life hell, but Bridget didn't blame them. She never forgave herself for her recklessness and irresponsibility. That day she promised herself that no matter what she would protect her little bro even when they were old and grey, and that was a promise she intended to keep, even in a zombie apocalypse.

Bridget sat up and eyed her brother in the front seat as she reminisced. Eli had an easy home life compared to her. The way their parents talked about him gave the impression that he was the poster boy of good behavior. The child any parent would be lucky to have. And because he was such a good kid all their attention was focused on him while she just stood in the background. The only time they were remotely interested in her was when she took up Martial Arts when she was 14 and claimed it was so she could protect little Eli from bullies. It took her years to get a black belt and she still had it. It was one of the first things she packed in the chaotic beginning of the apocalypse. Bridget never went anywhere without it and kept it wrapped around her forearm. Eli's voice carried her back to their hellish reality.

"Hey Bridge." He whispered. She turned away from the side window that her gaze had drifted to and leaned towards him from the backseat. He twisted his head towards her and looked into her green eyes.

"Yeah, what is it Eli?" Her voice was even softer that his. It was too dark outside to see any of the infected and she didn't want to attract any that were obscured by the many cars around them.

"Remember that blue Toyota? You know, towards the back of this group of cars? Well when we were looking through a few of those cars I saw a bottle of Southern Comfort and to be honest, I can't stop thinking about it. Hell I even had a dream about it where I was drinking so much of it with a couple of, uh, old friends." He finished awkwardly. Bridget estimated that his 'friends' were a couple of easy girls. She stifled a giggle and inwardly rolled her eyes.

"So you want to go get it and have a drink, huh? I guess that sounds fun." She'd regulate their drinking to a couple of gulps each, not wanting to get them too drunk in case a horde materialized out of the blue. Wouldn't be the first time, Sam and the rest of their old groups face's each appearing inside her head.

"Awesome. I'll be right back." Eli let that goofy grin stretch across his face before extending his arm towards his wakizashi, a sword similar to a katana except the blade was shorter and lighter. Before they left their old home town of Walhalla they raided her old Martial Arts studio. There they found his wakizashi and her nodachi, which was a three to four foot long sword. They even stole some sheaths and items to help keep them clean and sharp. She of course taught him how to use it and to properly maintain it. After a couple of months of hard practice he was absolutely deadly with it against the dead and, if needed be, the living.

Bridget shot her hand out to catch his shoulder before he could grip his weapon. "No I'll go get it. You just stay tight and man the fort. I need to stretch my legs anyhow." No way was she letting him go anywhere out there. And he knew it too.

She grasped her old leather jacket from the floor board next to her feet and threw it on over her plain blue shirt. She loved that jacket because not only did it have an inside pocket big enough for a decent size knife, it also had a collar that extended and brushed right under her ear. So in case one of those freaks ever got a jump on her and tried to take a chomp out of her neck all it would get is the bland taste of a dirty leather jacket. The only con was that it ended an inch or so above her belly button. She sighed and rechecked her black boots as she tucked her dirty jeans into her the tight shoe ware. Bridget made sure they were tightly laced and not in danger of coming undone in case she needed a speedy getaway. The last thing though was tying up her long blonde hair into a high pony tail. Bridget knew it was unwise to keep her hair as long as it was, but other that Eli it was one of the few things she had left from her previous life. Besides, if an infected or a living survivor that had ill intent towards her did try and grasp her long locks they'd have her nodachi firmly lodged in their trachea before they could even blink.

Speaking of her nodachi, Bridget reached behind her and unsheathed said sword. She tucked the long sheath on the floor of the car and intended to leave it there. One of the only things she could find wrong with nodachis is that the blade was so long that it was sometimes a nuisance to get out of its case; she knew she couldn't afford to be fumbling for her weapon in any situation. As she was reaching for the lock to the car door her brother stopped her with a fierce grip on her forearm.

"You know you don't have to go get it if you don't want to. I was just whining about my lack of alcoholism." Eli let a sheepish smile on his face but Bridget knew was afraid of getting her killed because he wanted a bottle Southern Comfort.

"No, I wanna go. Ever since you mentioned it I've been cravin' a good drink too. Besides I should probably take a look around anyhow. Make sure I don't see no strangers or any of those rotten freaks, alright?"

"But If I come too we could cover more ground more quickly on scanning this highway right?" He countered back, a heavy look of self-satisfaction in his blue eyes.

"Well what if a random person decides to ransack our car full of useful supplies because we split up? That's what I meant when I said "man the fort". Besides Eli, I'll move faster and be quicker on my own." That wiped the arrogant look from his face. Eli seemed to think it over for a few seconds and reluctantly nodded. Worry etched in her brother's features.

Bridget tightened her grip on her sword and popped the left side door's lock. She tried to silently open it but it still made a muffled groan as she cracked it open enough to let her nodachi out first. She awkwardly maneuvered it and stuck out a good portion of it outside. Soundlessly she leisurely made it out of the car and closed the door with a soft click. Bridget leaned against the car with her nodachi stretched in front of her and listened to the night around her. She inspected the cars around her, expecting any second to see the rotting flesh of one of those things. When she didn't Bridget looked back at Eli and gave him a nod, he gave her a mock salute in response. Taking a deep breath she started walking towards the back of the cluster of cars to where she remembered the Toyota to be with her sword in front of her pointed down.

Knowing the time thanks to Eli's digital watch that was pleasantly still working, they had gotten to the highway around four from stumbling across the mass of cars during their trek in the woods, trying to find some shelter for the night. They had to dump their car a while back from the absence of fuel and decided they were less likely to run across any hostile enemies in the woods. They had been walking through the woods with only a duffle bag and their two weapons when they staggered through the thick undergrowth of the Georgia trees and discovered the cars full of supplies. They searched through a few of them, killed a couple of the infected, and made camp in the red Saturn. Eli complained they should have chosen a bigger car, but Bridget insisted that it had the perfect vantage point to spot any potential danger. Thinking about all that now it seemed kinda of foolish to risk her life for a bottle of booze.

Once she spotted the Toyota, Bridget quickened her pace and reached the trunk unharmed. She leaned her back on the car and counted to thirty to make sure none of those diseased mutants would catch her off her guard trying to get the trunk open. When she felt the coast was clear she turned around and ripped out the bobby pin that was always in her hair with her left hand and kept her right hand gripped tightly on her sword. She quickly straightened it out with the help of her teeth and stuck it in the trunk's lock. After a while of jiggling it around she finally heard the soft click and pulled the door up.

Cautiously Bridget leaned her nodachi against the car and her hands dived in until she felt the cool glass of the bottle. Pulling it out she examined it with rapt excitement. She felt a smile pull at the corners of her lips and softly closed the trunk's door. Taking hold of her sword she brushed her finger against the chilly glass.

"Booyah." She murmured as she made her way back to her brother, and to a distastefully lumpy backseat.

* * *

It was light out when she heard the close rumble of a motorcycle. Bridget's eyes shot open and she quickly peeked over the polyester seat to see a guy on a motorcycle being trailed buy a big ass RV and another car. She quickly shook her brother awake.

"Eli! Eli wake up! There are people outside, we gotta think fast!" He whipped around and too peered as the RV made a loud hissing noise and their people started ambling out to stand by it.

"Shit. There's no way we can make a run for the woods with that many in their group. The one with the crossbow would probably shoot us down before we even made it out of the car. Goddammit! What are we gonna do Bridge?" Eli looked weakly at her. This is why she was the protector of both of them. When a situation seemed hopeless Eli constantly gave up, deeming the situation futile. She tightened her pony tail as the wheels in her head were put on overdrive. Bridget hastily pieced a half ass plan.

"Give me your sword and the duffle, quick! Don't forget the bottle! They're starting to go through the cars!" He did as she said and she stuffed both of their swords under the seat along with the half of bottle of booze. Bridget quickly got out a can of cranberry sauce and hurriedly removed her knife from the inside pocket of her leather jacket. As she started to started to stab a circle in the top, obviously trying to open it since can openers was absent in their duffle, she also kicked the bag under the seat.

"What the fuck are you doing!? Now's no time to reminisce about Thanksgiving dinner Bridget!" Once she had the can open and was satisfied with the illusion that there was nothing of use in the car she took out a huge glob and smacked it on her brother's forehead. His disgust was powerful as he glared and hissed like a wet cat.

"What the hell is your problem!?"

"Shhhh! Put your head against the steering wheel and lay still. They can't see that there are any supplies in the car! They won't search it because they'll think we were here recently and blew our brains out! Fuck, hurry! The one with the cropped hair is coming over here!" She watched as the rest spread out while a lone blonde women went back into the RV.

Eli quickly did as she said and she took out another good size blob and slammed her hand on the seat next to her. She also stuffed the can under the seat with the rest of their things and Bridget laid her head down on the cranberry sauce, wincing at the considerably cold substance made contact with her skin and hair. She stilled her body, acting dead.

She heard the light footsteps of the women and the quiet gasp she made. After that she heard her sobbing. Another quick set of footsteps came and the women's voice was soothing as she comforted the lady.

"Come on Carol. We'll just leave this car alone okay?" Bridget could tell the women speaking was also shaken by what she saw as she inwardly smiled to herself. Her brother used to make fun of her for buying all those seasons of CSI. She doubted he'd make fun of her crush on Nick Stokes now.

"Let's go see if there are any clothes in that car, Carol. No twelve year old should have to see this. Come on Sophia." Bridget felt mild guilt. She didn't see a young girl with the older women.

"Mom," a small, high voice questioned "Did they do what Miss. Jacqui did?" Bridget presumed this was little twelve year old Sophia.

"We don't have to talk about that sweetie. Jacqui's okay now, I promise." The lady called Carol consoled.

Their footsteps echoed away. Eli let out a huge breath. "They don't sound too bad. Maybe we should just-"

"Lori! Under the cars." A strong, deep accent filled voice commanded. Fuck, something went wrong. She quietly voiced her thoughts to Eli and he peeked around his seat to get a look at what was going on.

"Great. The idiots brought a horde along with them. The rest are hiding under the cars. Is there anyone in the RV? One of the infected just walked in there."

"Shit. There was a blonde chick." She whispered. Done with appearance they both lifted their heads. The diseased brushed against the cars as they walked on but as long as the two of them stayed somewhat silent Bridget guaranteed they'd be okay. Guilt started to pick at her. That blonde women could die. She couldn't stay here. Bridget had to get into that RV.

"You stay here. I'm gonna sneak along the cars and try to get to that RV. I won't let her die okay."

"Take my wakizashi. Don't want you to be knocking shit around and draw more of those things in there." Eli didn't bother arguing. He knew she wouldn't listen to him anyway.

Eli and Bridget both knew how to use each other's weapons. She was alright with his sword, but nowhere near how badass she was with her nodachi. She bent down as she wiped the cranberry sauce of her face and fumbled for the weapon. Upon finding it she waiting a couple of seconds after unsheathing it for the line of zombies to break before she ran out and slid under a car. She looked around and saw a man with short brown hair and bright blue eyes looking back at her with a mystified expression a couple of cars away. She gave him a mock salute, thinking of how she and her brother were a lot alike, and pressed on when she was sure no zombie would catch wind of her.

She slid under a couple of more cars until she reached her destination and slipped in the door to the RV. Closing and locking it quietly to not let any more infected in, she held the sword in front of her and slowing walked the narrow path of the RV. Loud and panic sobs mixed with the gurgles and groans met her ears as she came upon the scene. The zombie was banging and pushing on the small bath room door as the women too pushed. She was crying loudly using all her weight to keep it closed. Bridget let out a short and quick whistle. Pleasingly it turned towards her and stumbled at a slow pace. He was once a man, but now he was just a mix of rotting flesh on two sluggish stilts. His hand shot out to grip her arm, as if to hold her there. Bridget let a smirk reach her face, this was gonna be too easy. They were just too predictable, but she wasn't complaining.

Just as she expected it opened its mouth wide and made to tear out her throat. She turned her brother's sword up and rammed it under its jaw with a load crack, the blade sticking out of the top of its head. Yanking it back out she let at as sigh as she wiped the blade on her pants leg. She'd wash it later. Taking a glance at the back room with a decent size bed (she was contemplating on lying down for a second) she determined the only ones in this RV were her and the other blonde. Speaking of that lady she was still in the bathroom putting pressure on the door, as if it would come back to try and take another munch on her.

She took two strides towards the bathroom and knocked a small part of the theme from Adventure Time, one of her guilty (very guilty for a 27 year old) pleasure. Once she felt the pressure of the door release she hesitantly opened it. She was huddled against the back wall with a screw driver in her hand. Her tear streaked face took her in.

Bridget realized how she must look, leather jacket, hair up, sword in hand, and the side of her head matted with red. On one hand, she thought, Bridget decided she looked badass. On the other though, intimidating was a word not strong enough. Choosing to lighten the mood, Bridget let a large, goofy grin encase her face as she pointed to the side of her head.

"It's not blood I promise! Long story short I laid my head in cranberry sauce."

* * *

Eli watched as a couple of roamers that were left behind by the horde try to catch up. A child out of the corner of his eye slid out from under the car, turning his head he cussed as two of the roamers caught sight of her and started chasing her. He nearly threw himself in the backseat and dived for his sister's nodachi under the seats. He grasped it and flung himself out of the car and ran in the direction. Another man was chasing the girl and two zombies as they made their way passed the tree line.

He ignored the shocked gasp of the group and took off after them through the woods. Unsheathing his sister's sword he finally caught up to them. The forest floor dropped down to create a ledge where the man stood; he assumed he was some law authority due to his tool belt (too many cops episodes had paid off). He was backing up as two diseased were advancing on him. He was telling the little girl to stay there and run in when he got them away from her when Eli made his move. He leaped off the ledge and brought down the sword in a diagonal slash, cutting both of their heads in half and missing the man by at least half of a foot.

Eli landed with a splash and released a shaky breath as the two bodies folded in on themselves and fell with a spray of water at his feet. Grinning almost identically as his sister he took a look at the man and pointed the nodachi downward. The guy was visibly shaken, petrified even. Who wouldn't be when a stranger with a long ass sword was standing in front of you in a world where people would take what they needed to survive no matter what the cost. Eli heard a quiet 'whoa' and twisted his head towards the sound.

A little girl with short blonde hair was huddled in a small alcove under the ledge. Her eyes were wide and she was looking at him with no fear. In fact, she was staring at his as if he were the coolest person in the world. Turning back to the man he concluded he needed to say something awesome to give the illusion of being a badass.

"I'm here to drink beer and crack skulls. And I'm all out of beer."

**Hope you liked the first chapter, tried to make it as descriptive as possible and entertaining to read. If you have any question just PM me on click on my profile to get my email address. The next chapter we'll meet the group. I'm planning to change a lot of things in the second season since they mostly stayed on the to search for Sophia. We'll still venture to the farm but (WARNING) I'll have to make drastic changes. Anyway flames are welcome and have a nice day. **

**ALSO!, if there is anyone who would like to see one of their own characters come to life I'll take some request. Just leave a full name, brief background and a few traits. I'll PM you if I chose yours and give you a rough estimate on the chapter your character shall make your debut.**


	2. A Budding Start

**Again I own nothing except my plot that I have changed and my OCs. Other than that I own nothing. Hope you like it. Enjoy **

**A Budding Start**

Bridget helped the blonde, whose name she learned was Andrea, out of the bathroom. They stepped over the fallen zombie and Bridget stopped Andrea by the door.

"Go on out there, I'll drag goo face outside. I doubt y'all would like him stinkin' this place up." Bridget offered. Andrea smiled thankfully and bolted out the door. She let another breath out and laid her brother's wakizashi on the small, clean counter of the RV. Bridget grasped the zombies arm and easily threw the body on her back. She started making her way out and grabbed the sword on the way out.

Squinting at the bright sunlight she made her way outside to see the group watching her as she shuffled her way out. Throwing the zombie on the ground she held the sword pointed at the ground and took in the group.

There was one kid standing by a lady with long brown hair who was holding the lady with the cropped hair who was crying. Bridget assumed that Lori and Carol. A tall and wide black man covered in blood, she'd have to remember to stitch him up if they let her, and next to him was a lanky Asian boy, a tall man with brown hair who was looking at Lori. Andrea was standing next to an older guy who introduced himself as Dale (scaring the crap out of her when she saw him through the screen on the roof). And a very intimidating guy with a crossbow that currently had it trained on her head. She adamantly ignored how cute his was.

Bridget sneered, "I just saved one of your own and you're gonna shoot me? Figures."

The guy who had been staring at Lori stepped up. "He'll lower his weapon if you slide your sword over here, alright?"

"No way in hell am I sliding it. Here, just take it and put it on that car trunk behind you." Her brother would kill her if she hurt his baby, just like she'd kill him if he hurt hers. She carefully twisted the sword around so he could grip the hilt. As she did this she noticed Mr. Arrow's wonderfully thick forearms clench with tension.

After he had set it down the crossbow was taken off its target of her forehead as she privately smiled. If needed be, she could have her hidden knife out and take care of the big guys to escape, getting Eli from the car as well. Speaking of big guys one was currently dying.

"If you care anything for your friend over there," Bridget motioned with her head "you'd sew him up quick or he's gonna bleed out." All concerned eyes shot to his wound, except for Mr. Arrows. He regarded her with extreme caution.

Daryl didn't know what the hell this chick was thinking. Mocking them when she was clearly outnumbered was not only stupid, it was gonna get her killed. She was a short thing, shorter than him by at least three inches, long blonde hair pulled up in a high pony tail, dark green eyes, leather jacket and blue jeans tucked into bulky black boots. He didn't want to admit but she looked like she just walked out of his subconscious as the perfect woman. Nice body too, on the skinny side not that he minded that much.

"Got a name?" He drawled, crossbow resting on his hip. She had just opened her mouth when she heard a shout towards the woods. She twisted her head to see her brother running towards the group waving with a little girl and the man she saluted at his side. Bridget cursed. Eli never stayed put when someone was in danger. Unfortunately they had that in common. Carol shot of Lori's arms and threw hers around the little girl. They were both sobbing as everyone looked on. Eli left the man's side and came to stand by her as he started speaking.

"Eli showed up like some assassin and took out those two walkers. Who knows if me and Sophia would have gotten out of their alive if he didn't show up. I owe my life to him." Eli beamed at his praise. Bridget had been watching the man's wound that everyone had seemed to have forgotten about. Ten more minutes and she'd bet he wouldn't be standing anymore. Regrettably her conscious spoke up.

"I have some medical supplies in my car to stitch your friend up. I can go get it." Bridget suggested. The man her brother saved stepped in front of her and grasped her hand in a firm grip.

"I'm Rick Grimes. I would like to hear the rest of you and your brother's stories as you sew up T-Dog. We'll of course tell you who were are, but first I gotta ask, were you a doctor of something?"

"Nope. I was one they sent the patients to when they didn't make it. I'm a Coroner." Ignoring the shocked looks she strutted in the direction of her car with Eli directly behind her.

"Rick, I don't know how I feel about these people. Carol and I thought they were dead, they must of used something to make it look like blood for us to think they opted out. They're obviously smart. I don't think we can trust the girl and I wouldn't feel comfortable having her stitch up T-Dog." Lori spoke up when they were out of hearing distance. Rick turned to Lori with a defensive expression.

"Lori that man saved my life. Before he showed up I was gonna have no choice but to leave that little girl in the woods to get those walkers far away enough to keep her safe. Who knows what could have happened to her." Andrea also stepped up from Dale's side.

"Bridget, that's her name Lori." Andrea sneered. She turned to Rick. "She saved my life. Appeared out of the blue and lured a walker in the RV away from me. I was too panicked to do anything." She turned towards the rest of the group.

"They saved Rick and me, not to mention Sophia when they didn't have to. We owe it to them to give them a chance, to be a part of the group. You don't have to like them," Andrea deliberately shot a look at Lori, "and if you're that serious about hating them then look at is this way, they are both obviously skilled with weapons. That means less casualties and more eyes. I know they'll help us in the long run." Andrea seemed to get it out of her system and stepped back to Dale's side, too tired to remember she was angry with him. Dale however sensed the tension and excused himself to sit on top of the RV, watching in the opposite direction in case a walker roamed in. He still sat closely towards the group incase rationality left and he needed to step in and defend the newcomers.

* * *

Daryl ignored Lori and decided for once Andrea made a good argument. With their knowledge of silent weapons and skill they'd be useful if they ever saw another herd, like the one at the quarry. Hell, even a few more eyes for patrol and night watches were worth a couple of more mouths to feed. Just when Daryl thought everyone was done with this subject Shane had to open his big mouth like always.

"Rick I agree with Lori." Daryl saw Dale take a concerned glance in Shane's direction and turn back to keep watch.

'_Big-fucking-surprise', _Daryl rolled his eyes. He didn't share Dale's continuously faith that Shane would someday grow some sense and abruptly stop his bitching. Shane always had to be fighting over something. Ditching the CDC idea to go some make believe safe haven, sticking around Carl despite Lori's threats, almost all of Rick's decisions. Daryl assumed Shane thought the prize for all those fights was Lori's legs magically opening and kicking Rick out of the way as they did.

Thankfully Bridget and Eli chose to return before Shane could get on with with starting an argument. It seemed that every time Shane opened his mouth he was trying to make people see that he was a bigger dick than they thought. At least the newbies interrupted him. The blondes unknowingly prevented a headache that was sure to follow Shane's senseless ideas.

"That's T-Dog you're working on." Rick introduced.

The two siblings walked in his direction, a black duffle slung over the girl's shoulder that jostled lightly with her soft steps as she made her way to one of her first living patients. She motioned for him to sit on the ground and positioned herself towards is wound as she opened the bag. Pulling out the half empty bottle of Southern Comfort she took a glance at the group to see their reactions.

Most of them were curious to see him get stitched up, the Asian was a little green in the face, the redneck was eying the bottle enviously, and her brother had a looked unhappy to see even a little of the booze go to waste.

Bridget reached back into the bag and pulled a needle out of a plastic case. As she was sterilizing the needle she took a glance at Rick. "I'm Bridget Forbes and that's my brother Eli. We came here from South Carolina. We heard Atlanta was a safe-zone but a couple of yards in the city told us different. Barley got outta there in one piece." She gave the bottle to T-Dog as she carefully started threading the needle. "You may want to start drinkin' up, gonna hurt like hell if you don't. I've been a Coroner for about two years now. Eli was in medical school when all this shit happened. He wanted to work on the live ones. I'm more experienced at stitching then he is due to autopsies. We were a part of another group sometime back but a horde came through and wiped most of them out."

Rick nodded in understanding. Glenn went another shade of green at the word autopsy. Bridget started to stitch her patient back together as Rick started to introduce everyone. "This is my son Carl and my wife Lori. Shane is over there, also a cop. Glenn is the fella who looks like he's gonna throw up all over Daryl's shoes," Daryl did notice the chinamen getting plenty green and closer to his boots. "Daryl's next to him. Carol and Sophia are over there. Dale is keeping watch and I guess you've already met Andrea."

Daryl saw Bridget nod. She looked up a couple of times to see who Rick was pointing to, but other than that she kept her eyes on her work. T-Dog made a couple of winces and grunts as he knocked back most of the booze to dissipate the pain. Even if he got to drink some alcohol, Daryl was still happy with not being in T-Dog's place.

He saw Carol excuse herself and usher Sophia inside the RV, hopefully she wouldn't let that girl outta her sight for a couple of days. If only Lori could apply that to her boy, he didn't want to think about that _mess_. Daryl noticed Glenn shuffle away, mumbling the excuse he was gonna keep watch with Dale. Lori also made an exit, pulling Andrea aside to again start looking through more cars for supplies with Carl at her side.

'_Now only if I could glue him there' _Daryl swore if he was asked the question "Where's Carl?" one more time he was gonna go off on her and be meaner that Merle on his best day, which was still pretty nasty.

Now it was only Daryl, Rick, and Shane before Bridget and her brother. T-Dog was starting to look weary from the speedy intake of alcohol. Once he was all stitched up Rick had helped him to the back of the RV to lie down. Once Rick returned they stood with an awkward silence around them. Daryl watched as Bridget toweled the blood of her hands and threw it down by the duffel.

"You're welcome to stay here. With both of your, uh, medical knowledge we'd be really grateful to add you to our group, besides I wouldn't feel right just turnin' you away." Rick explained.

Daryl saw Bridget and Eli glance at each other. He knew they had decided to stay or to go with their glimpse. He used to be able to read his brother like that, except it was usually about which girl Merle thought he could get 'cause she was easy or a guy they thought they could beat in a fight.

They were wishing for death if they didn't stay with the group. It was obvious that Eli was dependent on his sister. If she was gone, Daryl predicted he wouldn't last a week without her. It was noticeable how Bridget held herself in front of her brother that protecting him had been her role for a long time. Who was gonna protect her? Not Eli. The kid may try but Daryl knew he would fail.

"We'll accept your offer." Bridget mumbled, not too keen on the idea of staying with a large group of strangers. She was never going to admit it, but Bridget was tired of all those sleepless nights she sat awake in case one of those things would come stumbling by. At least with a big group she could get some shut eye every now and then.

"That's a relief; I wasn't kidding when I said I wouldn't feel right just sending you two away." Rick grinned, obviously happy. Shane however frowned as he eyed the nodachi clutched in Eli's hand.

"You'll of course have to hand over your weapons. We don't know you two and I don't think people will feel comfortable with you both running around with swords." Shane eyed them both distastefully. Daryl studied Bridget as her expression became annoyed and insulted.

"We just saved three of your people's lives and this is how you treat us? Who knows what'll happen if another horde decides to roll through and we don't have anything to not only defend ourselves with, but the rest of the group. I get that we're strangers and all but this is a new world. We all have to be on our guard and protect ourselves. You don't have to trust us and you don't have to like us but I'll take my brother and we'll get as far away from here as we can if it means walking around with no means to defend ourselves with." Bridget finished. Determination rolled off her in waves. Daryl watched the emotions materialize on Shane's face before they disappeared and were replaced by new ones. So far the redneck counted five; all negative.

Ignoring Shane, Rick stepped forward. "I think your actions today showed what kind of people you are. You can have your weapons. All I ask of you is to not draw them unless you're alone, with each other, or there's a walker in front of you."

Shane's face went red and then purple as Rick completely said the opposite thing of him. Daryl almost laughed as Shane pulled Rick aside to argue with him. Alone with the duo things went awkward again. Daryl turned away and started to weave through the cars, planning to walk the perimeter around the woods. He was stopped by a tap on his shoulder.

Daryl turned to find little Bridget Forbes staring sheepishly before him, her brother nowhere in sight. Both of her hands were behind her back as she grinned, green eyes sparkling. "I saw you staring at this earlier and decided to let you have it, my brother shouldn't drink so much anyway."

Bridget brought out the almost empty bottle of Southern Comfort. It was about a fourth full and Daryl was already planning when to drink it. He took the bottle quickly and muttered a small "Thanks," as he turned and made his way to his brother's motorcycle. After he stuffed the bottle in his pack he resumed his trudge down the highway, a small blonde with green eyes on his mind, much to his annoyance.

* * *

Bridget was dumfounded. She predicted a grin from the crossbow wielding man as he slyly hinted that they should share a drink later, she would accept his offer and they'd meet later. Of course none of that was going to happened. What she least expected was an almost non-coherent recognition and a brief glimpse before accepting her gift. Offended and burning with rejection Bridget stomped over to her brother and masked her disbelief as she joined the conversation Eli was having with the boy named Glenn.

Giving one last glance at Daryl, Bridget completely pushed him away from her mind as she tried to keep up with the brewing debate between Glenn and Eli about what old school game they thought was the best. She gently sighed once before joining in the discussion and ruling The _Legend of Zelda_ as the best game series of all time.

**BamaBelle630, I didn't like any idea's I had to get to the Green Farm in this chapter. I can assure you that we will be there in the next one though. Thank you all for being patient and I hope you're thirsty for more :) I also hoped you guys liked that thing about Lori's legs :p**


	3. Cold Bullet

**All of your reviews made me smile and laugh, I'm glad you guys are loving it and your reviews give me the push to keep writing even if I don't want to do it that day. I'm not the only contributor to this story, all of you play a major role in its production. Thank you, It's only the third chapter and I can say that I love you already : ) **

**I don't own anything except my OC's and my changes in the seasons. All of the references to movies and TV shows are not mine. Enjoy and see you at the bottom.**

**Cold Bullet**

Everyone stood still as the shot resounded through the forest and traveled to the highway. For a few moments there was no speaking and no sounds as everyone waited to hear more shots, signaling that the three were caught in another herd.

Bridget knew she should have voiced her opinion. She was leaning against the RV with Eli after her rejection from Daryl and the stupid debate she had with Glenn when she heard Carl speaking with Shane and Rick. The kid was all but begging them to take him out to teach him how to shoot a gun, saying he wanted to protect himself if it was him who was in Sophia's place earlier. Bridget silently agreed with Rick when he said that Lori would never go for it, feeling mildly guilty for judging the women. In the end Shane and Rick calmed Carl by compromising that they'd teach him how to hide in the forest and discover the directions using the sun on his shoulder and the trees beside him. After Rick told Lori, the three set out for the forest, despite his Lori's protest which could be heard by Bridget and most of the group, spread out as they were.

That was over two hours ago. No one was really worried until they heard the shot. Eli winced as Lori's loud voice reached them as she began to panic.

"Wh-why was there only one shot?" Her eyes searched the faces around her.

"Maybe they came across a walker?" Someone offered. Bridget didn't glance to see who suggested the idea, keeping her eyes on the brush of the Georgia pines. With Lori's heavy pants and the air of tension she estimated that people were going to start panicking. She knew sooner than later at least one from the group would start yelling and Bridget didn't want to be jumped by a walker while waiting for an almost certain catfight between Lori and Andrea (no matter how entertaining that would be).

"No," Bridget heard Lori mumble numbly "Rick wouldn't risk making noise; he'd take it out quietly."

"One could have gotten too close, maybe they panicked and shot the thing. Shane was a cop too right? They probably shot the bastard in the head on the first try. I'm willing to bet they're running over here right now." Eli reassured. Bridget's eyes were still scouting the forest as Lori fell into silence. After an awkward moment she heard the brunette mutter a quiet word of agreement, seemingly convincing herself of what Eli theorized.

Everyone seemed to move on after a few minutes, sticking close to the RV and open cars incase walkers stumbled through on their way to get to the source of the noise. When none did they cautiously resumed what they were doing before. Bridget was just about to take her eyes off of the forest when she saw greenery rustle. She nudged her brother next to her and pointed with her chin. Once Eli realized what she was indicating towards the siblings simultaneously reached for their weapons that were leaning against the RV. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Daryl witnessed her interaction with Eli and aim his crossbow, ignoring the way he subconsciously stepped a few paces in front of her as if to shield her.

Bridget's mind raced. Daryl was too close to her. If she whipped out her nodachi Daryl would no doubt lose an arm. If it was a walker and not Rick she'd need to move face and cut off Eli, unsheathing her sword at the same time and dodging Daryl's arrows. It an unrelated matter he was close enough to get a look at the different colors to make up his hair. Bridget counted four different shades of brown and three of blonde when she firmly pinched herself to get her head back in the game.

Luckily for her it was a pale Rick and Shane that emerged from the dense trees. However unluckily for Lori their young son was wrapped in dirty jacket covered in blood, lying limply in Rick's shaking arms. Bridget moved fast, dragging her black duffle to a worn out looking Blue Honda as the sheriff rushed towards her, eyes wide with tears and taking no notice of Carol and Lori's horrified gasp and cries.

Rick laid the unconscious Carl on the car as she hurriedly stripped off his shirt and took in the damage done to this poor boy. Bridget vaguely heard Rick's hurried words to a terrified Lori as she held her to his sweat covered chest tightly.

"There was a deer! W-we shouldn't have let his get too close! A hunter, called himself Otis," Disgust rolled of Rick's voice at the man's name, "He shot him. Wanted to take him back to this farm he's been livin' on. Shane and I agreed not to go, I don't want anything to do with that family." Once Rick became incoherent with the mixture of his and Lori's cries she tuned them out.

Bridget was about to open her mouth when Rick's angered cry rang through the long stretch of road. "Haven't you done enough?! Get the fuck outta of here before I put a bullet through your fucking shit filled brain!"

She took a quick glance and saw a large over shaped man crying and holding a rifle limply in his hands. Dressed in camo and due to the fear in his eyes it didn't take a rocket scientist to guess this was Otis. Bridget turned back to Carl as a broken, horrified voice rang back towards Rick, "Please! Just come to the farm! I can see from here that you don't have that many supplies! We do! Hershel, he can fix your boy, we got medical supplies there. Please!"

"I swear I won't hesitate to put you down-"Rick threatened but was interrupted by Bridget.

"Shut up, Rick! He's fucking right!" She glared at him. Her hands were covered in blood as she put pressure on the wound. "I don't have the proper tools! Anesthetic, more sterilized equipment, IV bags. He'll die if we don't bring him there Rick!" Not giving Rick a moment to think it over she turned to the large man.

"Give us directions."

* * *

The ride in the RV was bumpy as they sped towards the direction the man named Otis gave them. Dale was driving the RV while Rick and Lori were in the small bedroom as Bridget wrapped heavy gauze around Carl. Eli and Glenn were in the front as her brother tried to distract the young Asian as his face was going back towards his normal color by the minute. She knew Daryl rode by himself on his unpractical motorcycle; she assumed Carol and her daughter were being driven by Shane. As they pulled of the road and continued until a large, homey looking house came into view Carl's face became steadily paler and his breaths became shallow. Once the RV came to a stop Rick scooped Carl in his arms and Bridget shot in front of him.

Rick and Lori were right behind the young blonde as she ran up the old wooden steps and came to a worn and torn looking screen door. Bridget yanked it open and made for the brass door handle that lead to the man she and Eli would help assist save Carl's life. As her fingers closed in on the cool golden handle the chipped white door was jerked open and cool metal was placed against her head. With a startled realization she became conscious that a large gun was placed in the middle of her forehead. She ignored Eli's alarmed yell and the collective gasp that ran through the group, she even heard Daryl's crossbow as he notched an arrow. She disregarded them all and made a heavy effort to forget how Daryl stepped in front of her, as if to protect her back at the highway, and pushed out the thought wondering if he'd somehow try to save her now. It wasn't the time to be acting like some sixteen year old girl.

Instead Bridget calmly took in the appearance of the brave person who had the audacity to stick a gun to her head. The women's light brown hair came into focus and she stood around Bridget's own height. Fair skin was stretched over her clenched jaw as she glared at her with a promise of death in her eyes.

The women blinked once and snarled loud to the entire group, "That's far enough if you enjoy keepin' your lives," Bridged detected a light Irish accent, "If you wanna die than by all means step forward, I have enough bullets."

**The end of Chapter 3! I know this one was very serious, the next one will be as well. At least half of it. I'll try and see if I can fit in some Daryl flirting in there, though he'll definitely talk to Bridget. I'll see you next week :)**

**Love,**

**The Final Pandemic.**


	4. Above The Jailer

**WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! YOU'RE BACK FOR MORE?! Sorry, all joking aside it warms my heart that you continue to support me this early in the story. Thank you, I'm eternally grateful and I hope I meet all of your expectations.**

**I don't own anything except my OC's and my changes in the seasons. All of the references to movies and TV shows are not mine. Enjoy and see you at the bottom.**

**Above The Jailer**

"Kaitlyn put down the gun and let them in." A hoarse voice called from inside. She eyed them with distaste before stepping aside, the women's whole body tense. Daryl watched Bridget rush inside with Rick, Lori, and Eli on her heels. The Irish women took in the group before muttering a curse and stalking off to the side of the house.

As the others stood around, unsure of what to do, Daryl fetched his bag and tent and set it up in a clear patch of land. With the small glimpse he caught of Carl's wound he was confident they'd be staying here awhile to not cause further injury to the kid, if he lived that long. Daryl felt slight regret shoot through him at that morbid thought. He never made an attempt to know the stick women's kid, but he didn't want the ten year old to die. Sitting in his tent alone, Daryl stretched out his long legs and unscrewed the top of the booze Bridget gave him. Against his will, images of her flashed through his head and settled on the look she gave him when she hid the bottle behind her back.

Bridget's green eyes were shining with mirth as she held her arms behind her back. Despite her get up and her previous attitude, she showed then that she still maintained a child-like innocence in this crazy world. Looking back now, he concluded with mild embarrassment that she was kinda cute when she did that. Even though he was alone, Daryl's cheeks flamed at the harmless notion that she was admittedly so, very cute.

With those thoughts swimming in his head, he closed his eyes and shot back a gulp of Southern Comfort.

* * *

After Hershel gave his diagnosis on Carl's condition Shane and Otis quickly made their exit, determined to get the things Carl needed to survive. Bridget would have offered to go but she was exhausted after saving Andrea's life, meeting her new group, and trying with all her might to keep Rick's boy alive. It was almost sunset, the sky started to morph into brilliant reds and oranges. Bridget had just washed her hands and let down her hair when she walked outside. There, sitting on the first step was none other than Kaitlyn Burke, the girl who held a gun to her forehead. Hershel had profusely apologized after the incident when they arrived. She hadn't seen the Irish women with Jimmy, a boy staying with them, Maggie or Beth, Hershel's polite daughters, or with Patricia, Otis's girlfriend.

Bridget hesitated before lightly sitting down with her on the girl's left. She kept her tone neutral as she addressed the women. "I'm Bridget Forbes. The lady you almost shot. I don't expect an apology 'cause I can already see it's not your thing from the way you've avoided everyone today."

The corner of Kaitlyn's mouth quirked up as she heard her words, both of the women's eyes locked on to an invisible target in front of them as they spoke quietly. "Good, 'cause I wasn't ready to give one. The Green's took me in. There's a long list of things I'd do for them, for the shelter and hospitality they've given me. If that means shooting a trespasser than by all means point me in the right direction."

Before Bridget had a chance to retort, Eli chose to make an appearance, strutting out of the Green's house as he made his way to stand in front of Bridget and Kaitlyn. "Hey sis, Maggie let me borrow a tent that's big enough for the two of us so I'm gonna go set it up. Help would be oh so very much appreciated." He gave her a snarky grin.

"Sure Eli, just let me finish my conversation with my new bestie."

Kaitlyn's eyes shot over to her in disbelief as Eli's own blue orbs took in his sister's new 'bestie'. Kaitlyn noticed Eli's wandering gaze and turned her head to the right. However she wasn't quick enough to escape Bridget's perceptive eyes. The young blond noticed a dark, violent blush rush over Kaitlyn's pale cheeks. Looking between her brother and the women she gave a hearty laugh.

"I'll be there Eli, you go ahead and get started." Bridget dismissed. Eli snapped out of his trance, gave a goofy grin and left with a shy goodbye to Kaitlyn and a wave to Bridget.

Kaitlyn turned her head back around and glared at the old wooden steps, the blush slowly fading away. Bridget held in her laughter and cocked her head. "How old are you anyway?"

"Turned 18 four months ago. Why?" Kaitlyn muttered, finally meeting the older women's gaze. Bridget slapped on a saucy grin.

"Well my brother's 22, five years younger than me. I guess it doesn't really matter anymore, it's just I didn't want my brother committing statutory rape when you two eventually have sex."

Kaitlyn's eyes bugged out of her head at the nonchalant way Eli's sister talked about his sex life. The red that was almost gone from her cheeks came back ferociously as laughter bubbled through her and turned into a full, belly aching cackle. As the laughter turned into light giggles Kaitlyn turned to Bridget with a small amount of warmness in her eyes.

"Just because you made me laugh doesn't mean we're 'besties' as you maturely put it." An almost miniscule teasing look on her pale face. Bridget regarded her with a soft expression and turned towards the sinking sun.

"Maybe not now, but I have a feeling it'll be soon." She flashed a smile in Kaitlyn's direction than strolled over to Eli, who amazingly got himself tangled in the plastic tent.

* * *

When Shane returned without Otis the mood of the group and the Green family became grim. After getting those troublesome bullet shards out of Carl and giving the boy one more blood transfusion from an already woozy Rick, the group and the Greens held a memorial service for Otis. There Shane weaved a tale of how Otis saved his life, sacrificing himself for Carl to make up for the wound he provided him. He described how noble Otis was in that moment, and how he insisted that Shane make it to transport the supplies to save the boy's life. By the end of Shane's speech Bridget held a burning hatred for the man.

He was clearly lying through his teeth. Bridget saw how Otis reacted when he thought he would be the cause that ended a human life, there was no way the man would face death head on being as honorable as Shane described. She'd be willing to bet that Otis would have been a blubbering mess if there was no escape. Of course she had to think that maybe Shane was protecting Otis's reputation. Rewriting him as gallant and self-sacrificing when really he was a coward, but that wouldn't explain why he was carrying Otis's rifle.

Shane said Otis fell behind when they were running from the walkers, seeing no way to catch up and escape he resigned himself to be a distraction. There was no way Shane could ever acquire the man's firearm. Unless he stole it and left Otis behind.

Glancing at Eli she saw the same disgust in his eyes as well. Bridget was surprised when she saw Daryl and Kaitlyn eyeing Shane with distaste similar as their own. However it could have been just general dislike for the man, but Bridget was determined to find out. She whispered to Eli that she suspected Daryl and Kaitlyn figured it out as well and he agreed that they should do some detective work, his words, not hers. Once people started clearing out they both made their way to their designated person.

Bridget ran up to keep with Daryl's pace and gave him a side look, green eyes wide and questioning. "So you noticed it too?"

He paused his walking and took a quick glance at her as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "That what? Shane killed a man back there and was talking through his ass?" Daryl bit out.

"Ahh. I should have known you'd figure it out. You have a hunter's eye. I don't think anyone else knows besides you, Eli, and myself." Bridget saw Daryl's cheeks flash a light pink at her praise.

"Doesn't take a genius to figure out, the idiot brought back Otis's gun."

"Do you think we should tell Rick?" She asked hesitantly.

"Don't think he'd believe ya, Rick doesn't wanna see how Shane's changing, and so he won't."

Bridget thought along his line of reasoning. "That makes sense. I guess we'll just have to keep an eye on him won't we?" She batted her eye lashes.

Daryl made a quiet word of agreement and made to stalk towards his tent. Once again Bridget felt the troubling burn of rejection and she refused to be brushed off like that. Before he could get too far away her hand darted out and grasped his forearm. His shirt was sleeveless, showing off his amazing biceps, and her fingers burned where they made contact. She felt her cheeks warm but kept eye contact when he turned around and regarded her with a stoic mask. Bridget dropped her hand and cleared her throat, trying to keep her voice neutral.

"You got any more of that booze I gave ya?"

"Yeah. Why?" Daryl drawled.

Bridget gave him the sauciest look she could muster without looking desperate. "'Cause I'm coming over later to your tent to share some."

Without looking to see his reaction she spun around and walked towards Eli and Kaitlyn. Unknowingly the both of them were trying to calm the butterflies that materialized in their own stomachs at the thought of tonight.

**Had so much fun writing this chapter. Told you there would be some seriousness at the beginning (much less than I expected) and more flirting and foreshadowing. I hope everyone is excited for the next chapter and I can't wait to hear your responses :)**


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